Blanche of Artois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Blanche of Artois
Seal of Queen Blanche
Queen consort of Navarre Countess consort of Champagne
Tenure	4 December 1270 – 22 July 1274
Coronation	May 1273
Born	c. 1248
Died	2 May 1302 (aged 53–54) Paris, Kingdom of France
Burial	Cordeliers Convent, Paris
Spouse	Henry I of Navarre Edmund Crouchback
Issue	Theobald of Navarre Joan I of Navarre Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
House	Artois
Father	Robert I, Count of Artois
Mother	Matilda of Brabant

Blanche of Artois (born around 1248 – died May 2, 1302) was a powerful noblewoman in medieval Europe. She became Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne when she married Henry I of Navarre. After Henry's death, she ruled as a regent for their young daughter, Joan I.

Blanche later gave the regency of Navarre to her cousin, Philip III of France. He was also going to be her daughter's father-in-law. However, Blanche kept control over Champagne. She even shared the rule of Champagne with her second husband, Edmund Crouchback, until her daughter Joan was old enough to rule on her own.

Becoming a Queen

Blanche was the only daughter of Robert I, Count of Artois, and Matilda of Brabant. Her uncle was King Louis IX of France. Blanche was likely born in 1248.

In February 1269, Blanche married Henry I of Navarre. They got special permission from the Pope to marry. The wedding happened in Melun, near Paris. Henry's brother, King Theobald II of Navarre, was married to Blanche's cousin, Isabella of France.

Henry was ruling Navarre while his brother King Theobald and Queen Isabella went on a religious war called the Eighth Crusade. When King Theobald died in December 1270, and his wife died a few months later, Blanche's husband Henry became the new King of Navarre and Count of Champagne.

King Henry and Queen Blanche were a young couple. They had a son named Theobald. It seemed like their family, the House of Blois, would continue to rule for a long time. But in 1273, they sadly lost their son Theobald in an accident.

Their daughter, Joan, was born the same year. She became their only child and was recognized as the next in line to the throne by the King and the important people of the kingdom. The next year, on July 22, King Henry also died. The death of two kings so quickly, and a baby girl becoming queen, caused a big political problem.

Ruling as Regent

After her husband died, Blanche became the queen dowager (a queen whose husband has died). She also became the regent for her young daughter Joan. This meant Blanche would rule Navarre and Champagne until Joan was old enough.

Other kingdoms nearby, like Castile and Aragon, saw this as a chance to take over Navarre. Both Alfonso X of Castile and Peter III of Aragon wanted Navarre for their own families. They hoped to marry Joan or take Navarre by force. Peter thought about marrying Joan to one of his cousins. Alfonso even moved his army to Navarre and began attacking the city of Viana. The people of Viana bravely defended their city. Queen Blanche thanked them by giving them special rights.

Blanche stayed in Pamplona for a while. But then she left the kingdom, taking Joan with her. She said she was going to visit her daughter's lands in northern France. But really, she was seeking help from her cousin, King Philip III of France. In November, she officially recognized him as the ruler of her daughter's French lands.

The quick departure of both the queen and the regent made things even more difficult in Navarre. In May 1275, Queen Blanche signed an agreement called the Treaty of Orléans. In this treaty, she promised Joan's hand in marriage to one of the two older sons of the King of France, either Louis or Philip. Louis died within a year, so Philip became the heir to the French throne and Joan's future husband.

Blanche managed Joan's lands from Paris. She appointed governors to rule Navarre. Later, Joan's future father-in-law, King Philip III, took over this role. Blanche, however, continued to manage Champagne and Brie.

Marriage to an English Prince

Between July and October 1276, Blanche married Edmund Crouchback in Paris. Edmund was the brother of King Edward I of England. This marriage was arranged by the French dowager queen, Margaret of Provence. She wanted her nephew, Edmund, to marry a wealthy bride. But some stories also say that Blanche and Edmund married because they truly liked each other.

Edmund joined Blanche in ruling Champagne and Brie. They had four children together: Mary (who died young), Thomas, Henry, and John.

In 1284, Joan was old enough to marry and take full control of her inheritance. Blanche and Edmund had to give up the counties of Champagne and Brie. They received money and the right to use the palace of the Navarrese kings in Paris as compensation. The next year, Philip III died, and Blanche's son-in-law, Philip IV, became the new king of France.

When disagreements started between England and France in 1293, Edmund and Blanche left Paris and moved to England. They returned to France in 1296. They lived in King Edward's lands on the continent, where Edmund served as a leader in Gascony. Blanche became a widow again in June of that year when Edmund died during a battle in Bordeaux.

She returned to her brother-in-law's court in November. But she did not stay in England for long. She received her dower, which was one-third of all Edmund's lands and his rights in the earldom of Ferrers. In 1298, she was back in France.

In 1299, she started a Franciscan monastery in Nogent-l'Artaud. It was dedicated to Saint Louis IX of France. She said she wanted to be buried there, not with her second husband in London or her first husband in Provins. Queen Blanche's body is buried at the Cordeliers Convent in Paris. Her daughter Joan was later buried next to her.

Family tree

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See also

In Spanish: Blanca de Artois para niños